The fine art of printmaking and its technical variations, both traditional and experimental, provide a range of endless aesthetic possibilities. Raven Fine Print Edition provides to the artist and collector the unique potentials of the printmaking medium by embracing its unique role as a mechanism of creative expression and the offering of high quality artworks of value to both individual collectors and institutions. The future of the print is to be found in its unique potential for artistic collaboration. The future of the printmaking medium is far more than serving as a tool in the toolbox of artistic mediums and approaches to the art making process. The fine print and all its unique approach simultaneously represent the singular voice of the individual artist and expression of the collective art making process.

What is a print?

Since the fifth century, fine art prints have been an important facet of the artistic practice of many of history’s art masters including such household names as Albrecht Dürer, Francisco Goya, Pablo Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, Elizabeth Catlett, Andy Warhol, and Robert Blackburn. Printmaking is a laborious, highly technical art form. The process begins with a drawing on a surface (called a matrix) of metal, stone, wood, polymer, or screen that is then inked and transferred onto paper. Each of these surfaces creates a unique type of print on the paper, and any of the infinite variations of ink, pressure, time, and surface alter the outcome and quality of the print.

For this reason, all prints are considered original even though they are typically printed in sets of multiples called editions. It is essential to note that prints are conceived by the artist as an original work and not merely a reproduction of an artwork already created in another medium. At Raven Fine Art Editions, it is the master printmaker’s role to facilitate this translation of the artist’s vision and expression into printed form. It’s often a deeply personal partnership that pushes the artist to innovate and grow in their expression and technique.

Why collect prints? Because prints are published in editions, they are affordable and provide an accessible way for both new and experienced collectors to discover and support new artists while growing their collections. And like all original art, prints can grow in value. Though there are multiple prints in each edition, the size of the edition is limited to preserve value.

Curlee Raven Holton

A highly regarded professor, painter and master printmaker, Curlee Raven Holton has exhibited his work throughout the world. His paintings, drawings, and prints are held by major museums and collections in the U.S. and abroad. His most recent solo exhibition, Journey: The Artistry of Curlee Raven Holton, was held at the University of Maryland University College.

Holton earned his MFA from Kent State University with a concentration in printmaking and his BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Fine Arts in drawing and painting. He served as the David M. and Linda Roth Professor of Art at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. where he taught printmaking and African American art history. Holton founded the Experimental Printmaking Institute with a vision to provide artists with the time, space, materials, and professional support to create new work. This vision was realized with more than 200 works produced. In 2014 he was appointed executive director of the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora at University of Maryland, College Park.

Holton was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Art and Philosophy from the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts (IDSVA) at the 2018 commencement in New York City. In 2015 he received the Anyone Can Fly Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award.

“The unique working experience where artist and master printer work in concert provides an important dimension to the graphic arts movement where visual artists of all media in both the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have found a successful studio home. Perhaps even more important is the friendly relationship that Curlee, the teacher, master printer, artistic director, and creative spirit, brings to an art form that has become a universal language all to itself. I am unable to say enough about the generosity of spirit and the unwavering sense of dedication that Curlee has brought to the art of printmaking.”